Venom from cone snail’s sting ‘could cure chronic nerve pain’

It’s a vicious little predator that can sting its prey into submission.

Under the beautiful appearance of its patterned shell, the cone snail stores a deadly cocktail of toxins which it delivers with a harpoon-like strike.

But this noxious marine aggressor could prove a blessing… for people suffering from chronic nerve pain.

Experts are hopeful of producing a pain relief drug derived from a tiny protein in the snail’s venom. With this protein, they have created five substances which could potentially be stronger than morphine.

Prof David Craik, from the University of Queensland in Australia, said: ‘This could serve as the blueprint for the development of a whole new class of drugs capable of relieving one of the most severe forms of chronic pain that is currently very difficult to treat.’

The venom used by cone snails to paralyse their prey appears to have an analgesic effect in humans.

Prof Craik and his team, who will present their findings at an American Chemical Society conference, are working to develop a conotoxin-based drug that can be taken orally. The only drug that uses the protein now must be injected into a patient’s spine.

Tests on rats have shown that a prototype drug has been shown to significantly reduce pain. ‘We don’t know about side effects yet on humans, but we think it would be safe,’ Prof Craik said.